[Exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in food and cancer risk: recent advances]

Polychlorinated Biphenyls are synthetic chlorinated hydrocarbon compounds whose commercial production started in the thirties and that have been widely used in the electro-technical industry. Although their production was stopped over 25 years ago, the Stockholm Convention included these compounds among the list of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). In fact, humans continue to be exposed to the toxic effects of PCBs because of their resistance to chemical and biological decomposition, their capacity of bio-accumulation and their long half-life. Studies performed so far have pointed out a possible association between exposure to Polychlorinated Biphenyls and increased risk of developing some types of cancer (breast, prostate, testicular, ovarian and uterine cancers); it has also been suggested that these compounds may act as disruptive endocrine and cause infertility as well as other hormone-regulated disorders. PCBs accumulate in organisms through the food chain, and food is therefore the main exposure source for humans: it accounts for over 90% of exposure, the highest concentrations being found in fish (such as salmon and shellfish), dairy products (especially milk and butter) and animal fat. Moreover, waste-heaps, illegal disposal of oil waste and combustion of certain waste products in incineration plants represent sources of environmental pollution. The highest levels of PCBs in the environment were found in the early 1970s; since then concentrations of Polychlorinated Biphenyls have gradually decreased in all environmental components (water, air, earth and sediments), in fish, in other food products and lastly also in humans, thus suggesting that the associated risks have also likewise diminished.